Christian-Muslim Relations in Arabia: Ibadi Islam and Interfaith Theology in the Sultanate of Oman (DI-645)

The Sultanate of Oman is the only Muslim nation in the world that practices Ibadi Islam as the official national religion. Ibadism incorporates an austere piety with an openness to engaging in dialogue with other Islamic schools of thought and other faiths. Oman has a long tradition of religious pluralism both within Islam and other faiths, which makes it an ideal place to engage in inter-Islamic and Christian-Muslim dialogue. In this two-week travel seminar in Oman, participants will attend lectures and meetings with Ibadi imams and scholars, engage in interfaith dialogue with students in the Institute of Sharia Sciences, meet missionaries of the American Protestant Mission in Oman, and explore the interfaith context of Oman with visits to a Hindu temple; Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant worship centers; and some of the oldest mosques in Islam. This course is limited to matriculated Hartford Seminary students.